Do you read the foreword?

[undead]

Sometimes when I begin reading a new book (which isn't very often), I'll be all amped to read it, get going, then open to find a lengthy prologue. I've never been one to read them for two reasons: One if I want to read a book, I want to read the fucking book. And two... sometimes I want to know NOTHING of the book I'm about to read (assuming it's a book I've been recommended or one that I picked up on a whim).

Who reads the foreword, who doesn't? SHOULD I read the foreword or doesn't it make a bit of difference?

 

[Kenickie]

it depends on what the book is and who is writing the forward. the allen ginsberg foward on "visions of cody" by jack kerouac? totally reading it. Norman Mailer forward for a Henry Miller book? totally reading it. the author's forward on the authors own book?

ehh i'll pass.

 

[New]

I like reading the foreword. It provides a little more insight for me. Also, I like to read the SHIT out of a book, all the way from the copyright to the index. I'm just thorough like that.

 

[SideOrderOfOpiates]

There are two things I simply cannot fathom when it comes to 'entertainment'. I CANNOT skip the foreword of a novel, and I CANNOT start watching a film after the first five minutes is up ! I've found that even missing one single paragraph can take away so much from the overall presentation! I feel that if I am investing my time into reading something, I should invest all of it. I simply want to gain as much out of the 'big picture' as humanly possible. Also, I've found that certain 'forewords' are often very beneficial when trying to grasp the entire concept.

 

[PhenethylTrypta]

A lot of times a foreword provides a context in which the following narrative subsides within, which otherwise not understood could provide for heavy misunderstanding. The nature of a foreword is always different though. The foreword on one edition of Moby Dick is actually quite humorous, putting into context the current state of cetacean knowledge at the time of Henry Miller's work, which without Moby Dick was actually quite infinitesimal.

I almost always read it with exceptions. Though those exceptions usually result in me reading the foreword AFTER I've read the book, which can be interesting.

 

[Max Power]

I read the foreward last. Opposite with the epilogue. I skip the middle part altogether.